Newsroom
SCOTX Reverses Amarillo Court of Appeals in Shut-In Royalty Dispute
The Texas Supreme Court has reversed an Amarillo Court of Appeals decision holding that an oil and gas lessee’s notation on a check reset the deadline for payment of a shut-in royalty that was made prior to the annual deadline established by the lease. Scout Energy...
SCOTX Rules for Texas Tech in Age-Discrimination Case
The Texas Supreme Court has held that the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-El Paso did not discriminate against an employee who was passed over for a new chief of staff position for a younger candidate. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-El...
SCOTX Remands 20-Year-Old Wrangle over Fraud, Legal Malpractice Claims for Third Trial
In a case that increasingly resembles Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, the Texas Supreme Court has remanded a two-decades-old legal malpractice case for a third go around in the trial court. Henry S. Miller Commercial Company v. Newsom, Terry & Newsom, LLP and Steven K....
SCOTX Rules That Human Trafficking Case Against Facebook Does Not Share Commonality with Other Jane Doe Cases in MDL
The Texas Supreme Court has reversed a decision of the multidistrict litigation panel denying Facebook’s (now Meta Platforms, Inc.) motion to remand a lawsuit against it to an existing MDL involving claims arising from human trafficking. In re Jane Doe Cases (No....
Concurring Opinion in Fraud Case Questions Whether Fraud Without Aggravating Circumstances Justifies Punitive Damages
In an opinion concurring with the Houston [1st] Court of Appeals’ denial of en banc review in a fraud case, newly appointed Justice David Gunn, formerly a pre-eminent appellate lawyer with the firm Beck Redden, has raised the question of whether a showing of common...
TCJL Tracking Report 1-10-2025
TCJL Tracked Bill List January 10, 2025 New bills since the last report are in RED New Causes of Action Tort Liability Construction Law Freedom to Contract Health Care Liability Judicial Matters/Practice of Law Eminent Domain Dobbs/SB 8/Obergefell/LGBTQ...
SCOTX Reverses Course, Grants Mandamus in Discovery Dispute Involving Child Pornography
As we reported nearly a year ago, a deeply divided Texas Supreme Court lifted an emergency stay and denied the relator’s petition for a writ of mandamus to block a trial court order compelling her to turn over a video to opposing counsel’s lawyer that she asserts...
SCOTX Reverses Dallas Court of Appeals Decision Expanding Disability-Based Employment Discrimination Claims
The Texas Supreme Court has reversed a Dallas Court of Appeals opinion holding that an employee could pursue a Chapter 21 action for disability discrimination and retaliation against her employer even though she repeatedly denied having a disability. TCJL filed...
SCOTX Rules for Producer in Dispute Over Calculation of Non-Participating Royalty Interest
The Texas Supreme Court has reversed a Corpus Christi Court of Appeals decision holding that the owner of a non-participating royalty interest did not convert his fixed interest into a floating one when he entered into a stipulation and cross-conveyance agreement...
Austin Court of Appeals Rules for Appraisal Districts in Gas Compressor Cases, Potentially Creating a Loophole in Tax Code Treatment of a Dealer’s Inventory of Heavy Equipment
As we reported in June, energy companies that lease natural gas compressors won a significant victory for property owners when the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that § 25.25(c), Tax Code, motion to correct the appraisal roll is not precluded by a prior unsuccessful...
Governor Abbott Appoints Blacklock As Chief Justice, Sullivan As Justice Of The Supreme Court Of Texas
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Jimmy Blacklock as Chief Justice and James P. Sullivan as Justice, Place 2, on the Supreme Court of Texas for terms set to expire on December 31, 2026. "With more than 35 years on the bench, Chief Justice Nathan Hecht is the...